Doll&#39;s house structural set



May 13, 1948- G. GUELICHER v DOLLS HOUSE STRUCTURAL SET Patented May 18, 1948 UNITED STATES 'PATENT v.()FFICE K 2,441,761, v i

DOLLS HOUSE- STRUCTURAL SET GiselaGuelicher, Brooklyn, N. Application Juner29, 1946, Serial No; 680,453

This invention relates to dolls houses or the like, and aims to provide, in combination, a base having a plurality of vertical grooves extending thereinto from the top and extending longitudinally, transversely, r at an angle, along the base, and a pluralityV of construction elements such as walls or the like which are adapted to be mounted; to form a house or the like merelyY by inserting the walls into the said grooves. The various groovesv shown in the drawing are in straight lines, althoughcurved grooves may be used in addition. Also, only` Walls are illustrated as registering'in the grooves, but other parts or articles might also be so applied, such as, for instance, pieces of furniture, posts, as well as numerous other things which may enhance the enjoyment of the toy. v

A further object of the invention is the provision of the base in a plurality of sections hinged together, so that the base may be reduced to acompa'ct m-ass when' not in use, for storage etc. As the base is hollow and thus provides space inside the'sections thereof, the walls, etc., supplied with the toy may be stored in the' hollow base sections when not in use, and for this purv pose doors or the like, not shown, may be provided in one vertical wall Of each base section. The above as Well as additional objects 'will be elucidated in the following description, wherein characters of reference refer to like-niunbered parts on the drawing. It is to be noted that the drawing is intendedA solely for the purpose of illustration, and `thatfit is neither desired nor intended to limit 'theinvention necessarily to any or all of the exact details of ,construction excepting insofar as they may be deemed essential to the invention.

Referring briefly to the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the base with one structure fully and another partly erected and mounted thereon.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the base per se.

Fig. 3 is a sectional View taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary side eleva tional view of the base, showing the countersunk hinges used thereon.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary side elevational'view of a mutually-hinged sectional roof member.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary end elevational View of the same.

Fig. '7 is a vertical sectional view illustrating the manner of providing a two-storied structure, including a hollow floor and ceiling member.

2 claims. (o1. 465-19) f tions hinged together by means of countersunk hinges I2, the three sections being indicatedv at I3, I4,YandvI5. 1 Y

One end section, I3, comprises the.` bottom plate I6, having the upright walls II, I8 and I9. Ther inner end wall 2D extends across the space left on that side,l but terminates at a distance from thev walls I8 and I9 thereby leaving a-'space 2I at each end of the Wall 20.

Mounted within-the enclosure of the I8, I9, 20, and I'I, are a pair of platform-like members 22, each having the four upright walls 23, 24, 25, and 2,6; .the walls 23 are` spaced 'from the wall Il by a distance equal to the space 2|; in the same manner the Wall 26 is spaced from thevwall I3 and the wall '24 is spaced from the wall 20; like wise,the Ywall 25 of the one member 22 is separated from the wall 26 of the adjacent member 2:2by the samev distance. The walls 23---26 are supported in xed position on the basel 6r by any suitablemeansor in any desiredl manner, as, for instance, by glue-or screws, not shown and they are4 preferably although not -necessarilymade of wood.- Thus, grooves 21,28, 29, 30, and 3| ,are

provided -in the floor. of the base member Ill.

In thezsame mannerplatform members 22a are provided in; the section. I4, and members22b and 22e, the latter. of smaller dimensions, inthe section I5. These grooves 2l-3 I las described are presented` merely by:l Way of example, as anyA other geometric pattern of the platform-like members may be provided to give different arrangements of grooves, either straight or curved, in an obvious manner.

In Fig. 1 the base II) is shown, provided with additional grooves 32 and 33 as shown in Fig. 2 also. By way of example, walls 34, 36, and 35 are shown on the right, Fig. 1. It is to be noted that the grooves 30, 30a and 33h and the spaces 2I and 2Ia, at the top, Fig. 2, provide a continuous groove nearly the length of the base I0; in the same manner all the grooves and spaces 2l are in alignment to provide a continuous groove along the other side of the base I0. The wall 34 registers in the latter groove, and the wall 36 as well as the door 35 both register in the transverse groove33, as does also the Wall 3l. registers in the groove 3 Ib, and the Wall 33 registers in the groove 2lb'. Of course only one eX- ample has thus been offered of the many possible arrangements of walls etc. in the various grooves.

The wall 38 Figs. '7 and 8 offer methods of construction whereby two-story houses may be erected. In Fig. 7, a double side wall 40 has the two spaced boards 4l and 42 separated by a spacer strip 43, the lower edges of the Walls 4I and 42, not shown, being adapted to register in any pair of adjacent grooves lsuch as, for instance, grooves 20 and 21a. The spacer 43 is adapted to run the full length of the wall, and is provided with a groove 44 throughout its length. The double floor 45 comprises the upper and 'lower boards 46 and 41, the former being the floor of the second story and.

the latter the ceiling of the rst, separated by one arm 48 of a spacer strip 49. The other arni 50 of the strip 49 extends upward, and.v between the arms is a vertical groove l. 52 and 53 form the upper wall 54, and they are' erected by having their lower edges registerin.

the grooves 5l and 44, respectively. In the Inodified form of Fig. 8, parts which are similarto Fig. 7 bear the same reference numeral followed by the letter a. In this case the second story wall is a single board registering in the groove 44a, and a square spacer strip 56 separates the floor boards 46a and 41a. Y

To provide suitable peaked roofs forthe walls, roof members are provided in two or more sections 51 joined by hinges 58. Along the longitudinal edges of each section 51, a moulding strip 59, having the longitudinal groove 60 in its underside, is provided, in which the upper edges'of the walls at the ends, such as wall 36, register.

From the above description it is apparent that a dolls house toy or set has been provided, wherein the various component parts including Walls, roofs, etc., as well as other elements such as furniture and the like, may all be furnished separate pieces, parts or members, in combination with Vthe base l0 which is provided with the desired assortment of grooves therein in the manner stated. Then the child may erect a large varied assortment of structures and furnish them as desired, with the exercise of the skill of the childV and the elimination of boredom owing to the variability of the arrangement permitted.

And when not in use, the structures may be readily dismantled, as is apparent, and the base I0 collapsed into a compact mass for convenient storage. The dismantled elements of the structures, that is, the walls, roofs, etc., may, as stated, be placed Within the compartments contained in the sections of the base. It is to be noted that no screws, clamps, or any other means of securing the walls to the base or the other parts men- 40 strip groove.

4 tioned to the walls, are required, as the registration of the walls, etc., in the grooves, as mentioned, is sufficient to provide xed interengagement of the various parts.

Obviously, modifications in form and structure may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A toy structural set comprising a base havl0 ing a plurality of grooves extending downward through the upper surface thereof and arranged ins patterns thereon, a plurality of walls having A'their lower edges registrable selectively in said grooves 'of Aany of said patterns to provide the enl closing wallsof house-like structures, each of said The two boards i f spacer strips therebetween, combined floor and Walls comprising spaced parallel boards and ceiling members supportable on said walls by having the ends of said members rest on said spacer strips, said floor and ceiling members comprising spaced boards having spacer strips therebetween, said spacer strips having spaced vertical grooves extending therealong, and second story Walls comprising spaced parallel walls adapted to register in said last-named grooves.

2. A toy structural set comprising a base having a plurality of grooves extending downward through the upper surface thereof and arranged in patterns thereon, a plurality of walls having their lower edges Yregistrable selectively in said grooves of any of said patterns to provide the enclosing Walls of house-like structures, each of said walls having a strip along the top edge thereof, said strip having a longitudinal groove intermediate the edges thereof in its upper surface,

a second story Wall regi-Strable in said strip groove, and a combined floor and ceiling member supportable at one end by said strip by resting on the upper surface of said strip adjacent said VGrISELA GUELICHER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 129,960 Johnson July 30, 1872 1,449,519 Layton Mar. 27, 1923 1,569,066 B'eiger Jan. 12, 1926 2,000,618 Schultz May '7, 1935 2,204,319 Parsons et al. June 11, 1940 

